1

The context I want to say is as follows.

People who always complain about their jobs, working partners, and even the company while still taking the salary look like ones who spit into their own well from which they drink everyday.

Here the word even is only attached to the last item of the enumeration

jobs, working partners, company

I am afraid my translation below does not convey the original meaning. Please kindly correct me!

給料をまだ取りながら、仕事、働くパートナー、会社にも文句を言う人は、毎日水を取って、飲む自分の井戸に唾を吐く人のようだ。

Note: Any constructive advice or suggestion is always welcome!

2 Answers 2

2

How about translating it like:

給料をもらっているのに、自分の仕事や同僚ばかりでなく、会社にまでも不満をこぼしてばかりいる人というのは、いつも水を汲み、飲んでいる井戸に唾を吐いている人のようなものである。

2

You're right about your translation. It not only does not convey the intended "even", but the first part translates back to:

"Those who complain to their work, working partners, and even their company while still taking their salary...."

Suggested Translation for the first part:

給料を受け取ってもなおかつ、仕事と同僚に限らず、会社自体の(文句を言いまくって/愚痴をこぼしまくって)しまう人は。。。

Point 1:

~ってもなおかつ

This phrase emphasizes that even though state B is continuing state A is also still continuing. In this case I think this would be one of the better ways to express "...while still taking/receiving their salary..."

Point 2:

I think it is perfectly fine to stick with "文句を言う" but "愚痴をこぼす" is another good one if you would like. As far as expressing that they are "continuing to complain", I like using the 連体形 + "まくる" form, but that is entirely up to preference and is sort of casual too. If you want to sound more neutral you could just replace "まくる" with "つづける", or you can just say "絶えず言ってしまう".

Point 3:

I know I didn't touch on the latter half of your sentence at all. That is because I don't think you should try to translate it literally. At best, literal translations of most metaphors only ambiguously keep their meaning in Japanese. I suggest looking up actual Japanese metaphors that carry the same volitional meaning. For example:

自分で自分の顔に泥を塗る

This is by no means the best metaphor out there (it's actually the only one I can think of right now...), but if you search you may find something that you like more.

Edits for English grammar errors and a forgotten も.

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